Fate of 2,500 Ukrainian POWs from steel plant stirs concern

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ELENA BECATOROS, OLEKSANDR STASHEVSKYI and CIARAN McQUILLAN

POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — With Russia claiming to have taken prisoner nearly 2,500 Ukrainian fighters from the besieged Mariupol steel plant, concerns grew about their fate as a Moscow-backed separatist leader vowed they would face tribunals.

Russia has declared its full control of the Azovstal steel plant, which for weeks was the last holdout in Mariupol and a symbol of Ukrainian tenacity in the strategic port city, now in ruins with more than 20,000 residents feared dead. The seizure gives Russian President Vladimir Putin a badly wanted victory in the war he began nearly three months ago.

As the West rallies behind Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Ukraine on an unannounced visit and will address the country’s parliament on Sunday, his office said.

Poland, which has welcomed millions of Ukrainian refugees since the start of the war, is a strong supporter of Ukraine’s desire to join the European Union. With Russia blocking Ukraine’s sea ports, Poland has become a major gateway for Western humanitarian aid and weapons going into Ukraine and has been helping Ukraine get its grain and other agricultural products to world markets.



In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday, May 20, 2022, a Russian serviceman frisks a Ukrainian serviceman after they leaved the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-moscow-d99f8629e85798abb6d51749350553ae

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[Frustratedlady]

1. I think we all fear the same thing.

[Lonestarblue]

2. Russia has been brutal in their treatment of Ukrainians.

I think we all fear that they will be executed. The Red Cross registered their names, but Putin doesn’t care what the world thinks of him because he has committed so many war crimes and gotten away with them that he most likely feels invincible.

I truly hope leaders of Western nations understand what a big mistake they made when Putin took Crimea and the West simply levied a few sanctions and then went on doing business with Russia. Had heavy sanctions been levied then and Russia cut off completely from global banking access, the war against Ukraine might never have happened. Of course, hindsight is always clearer, but Putin has never been anything but a murderous dictator determined to attack neighbors and create chaos in democratic nations.

[jimfields33]

3. Yep. The world allowed Russia to take cremea basically on a silver platter.

Not sure what the counties were thinking. Pretty weak for sure.

[David__77]

4. War propaganda is not great information.

…

[Evolve Dammit]

5. Fuck Russia. n/t